


Junior Year

by hondagirll



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Best Friends, F/M, Female Friendship, Lydia loves Schneider in any universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 20:46:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20495078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hondagirll/pseuds/hondagirll
Summary: Between classes, research, internships, studying, family worries and a significant lack of sleep, Penelope's third year of college is turning out to be a lot different than she had planned.One of the few bright spots in her year of anxiety and stress? Surprisingly her newest roommate, Schneider.





	Junior Year

**Author's Note:**

> I have no explanation for this except to say this idea wouldn't leave me alone so I finally just sat down and started writing it. Will cover Penelope's entire junior year, one chapter/month. These characters are in college so warnings for language, drug use and sex, etc. Nothing too explicit but I wanted to throw that warning out there.
> 
> Inspiration for Schneider's major as a social worker goes to fineh's [We're Only Going Up](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18133721)
> 
> Also this is set at UC Santa Barbara because a) I wanted a college that was close enough to LA that Pen could easily go home for the breaks/weekends but not too close that her parents would be around all the time and b) a college town in which apartment rules are somewhat more relaxed than the dorms rules are. UCSB hit it on all those points. That said I haven't visited that campus in a few years so be gentle with me if my memory and google maps fail.

The text came in around noon.

“Shit!”

Penelope was not expecting the loud curse from the other room and she involuntarily jumped up in surprise and banged her head on the inside of the cabinet door where she was neatly putting away bowls. She pulled her head out of the kitchen cabinet and rubbed it, turning around to glare at her best friend and roommate Jill who had entered their living room with her phone in hand, looking distressed.

“What’s wrong?” Penelope asked, her voice a little harsher than usual as she climbed down from the step stool and moved the few feet necessary to enter the living room. Ramona, Penelope’s other best friend and third roommate who had been sitting on the sofa unpacking boxes also paused to look up at Jill in concern.

“Lori isn’t coming.”

“What?” exclaimed Penelope loudly in surprise as Ramona swore viciously under her breath. “What do you mean she’s not-”

“Check your phone,” replied Jill, still staring in horror at her small screen. “She sent it to all of us.”

Penelope wiped her palms on the side of her shorts and picked up her phone from where she had left it on the kitchen table. It was the first Saturday in September and she, Jill, Ramona and Pam (roommate number four) were moving into their shared apartment in Isla Vista, also known to the locals and other UCSB students as I.V. Though it was the beginning of September and not quite noon yet, the temperature outside was easily in the mid-eighties and even with the front door and many of the windows open it was still stifling hot inside. Penelope's face was flushed and she could feel the sweat dripping down the small of her back as she unlocked her cell phone and read the latest text message in their roommate group chat.

Lori, their fifth roommate who was home in Missouri for the summer was scheduled to fly out in two weeks for the start of the fall quarter. She had already paid her portion of September’s rent and just last week had sent them all pictures of Ikea furniture and mood lighting she thought was necessary to spruce up their standard beige two-bedroom apartment - _from bleh to glam_ was what she had written underneath. Ramona had responded with _this aint no HGTV reality show girl _and Penelope and Pam had spent the rest of the text chain playing peacekeeper between the two roommates. However now it all seemed like a waste of time because Lori had changed her mind. Lori had changed her mind, Penelope repeated to herself as she tried not to freak out. Lori wasn’t coming back to school which meant she wasn’t going to be moving in with all of them. No biggie.

Translation: huge biggie

“I can’t believe-” Ramona looked up from her phone, her gaze locking on Penelope’s. Penelope knew the same wide eyed, fearful look that was currently on Ramona’s face was mirrored on her own. They were so screwed.

“I know,” said Penelope as her stomach clenched and unclenched itself. “I know.”

There was silence as the three girls looked at each other.

“Ugh, that shower is the worst,” exclaimed Pam as she walked into the living room rubbing her wet hair with a towel and smelling like her peach shampoo. “You barely touch the handle and it goes from hot to cold instantly. We might need to tell the landlord, I don’t know if I can deal with that all year long.”

Pam suddenly noticed the silence and grim faces and stopped abruptly in her tracks. She lowered her towel to her side and asked, “What’s wrong? Who died?”

“Lori,” replied Ramona in a low growl.

“No, she didn’t,” exclaimed Penelope quickly, her heart jumping in alarm at the stricken look on Pam’s face. She gestured for Pam to come closer and handed over her phone before sitting down on the sofa next to Ramona, ignoring Ramona’s mutterings of ‘she will be when I’m done with her’ under her breath.

Jill plopped down in the empty chair next to the couch and said, before Pam could finish reading, “Lori’s moving to Texas to live with her fiancé who got a job there. She’s not finishing school.”

“Idiot,” replied Ramona and though Penelope did like Lori - sweet, ditzy, somewhat naive Lori she privately had to agree with Ramona. Lori was an honor student with a full scholarship, rich parents and only one year left at UCSB. She had opportunities that Penelope, no matter how many hours she put in at clinic or how many professors befriended her would never, _ ever _have. And to throw it all away for a boy? What was she thinking? Her mami would have said it was muy romántico of Lori to uproot everything for love but Penelope disagreed.

At twenty-one years old, it was muy estúpido.

“So she’s not coming back,” repeated Pam slowly to herself as she sunk to the floor, curling her legs effortlessly beneath her like the lithe dancer she was. “I wouldn’t have asked her to move in if I didn’t think-”

“It’s not your fault,” interjected Penelope, knowing instinctively where Pam was heading. Pam had a habit of trying to carry everyone and everything on her skinny shoulders. “You couldn’t have guessed she’d lose her head over big-eared Mark.”

“Oh yeah,” Jill said, a slight grin curving her lips. “His ears are pretty big, huh?”

“Ramona used to call him Dumbo Mark whenever we saw him around, remember?"

“I stand by it,” nodded Ramona. “In fact I can think of worse things to call him now-”

“Don’t!” forestalled Pam with a threatening look at Ramona as she leaned over her to hand Penelope back her phone. “We are friends with Lori and despite how this news affects our living arrangement we are happy for her, yes?” She tried again when only Penelope and Jill nodded. “Right, Ramona?”

Penelope glanced at Ramona who had shifted slightly in her seat, sulking. “I guess,” Ramona muttered eventually, rolling her eyes as she looked away and Penelope had to bit her bottom lip hard not to laugh at her disgruntled face.

“We can be happy for her but still want to set her stuff on fire,” added Penelope once she could speak again. She couldn’t help it. Ramona’s face changed quickly into one of glee as Jill laughed and Pam shook her head in disapproval. “Penelope,” Pam tutted reproachfully as Penelope smirked.

“Well too bad she hadn’t sent her stuff here yet,” pointed out Jill and Penelope’s grin faded as quickly as it had come.

Oh right.

There was another round of silence as all four girls sat there, thinking. Penelope gathered her curls into a loose ponytail with her hand as she exhaled, loudly. "So what do we do now? I mean, we chose a five roommate apartment because it was cheaper. We can't afford to live here without Lori."

Almost as one the three younger girls (Penelope, Ramona and Jill) all turned to look at Pam. Pam had been their Resident Advisor during their freshman year and her sophomore year. Pam had been the first person to greet Penelope when she arrived on campus with her hand-me down suitcases and brand new backpack, her papi’s smile a little too forced and bright on his face as he stood beside her while her mami chatted endlessly as if she could stop Penelope from saying goodbye if she never paused to take a breath.

Penelope had cried every other day that first week, missing her parents, her home and her life; certain this whole college thing was all a big mistake and each time Pam was there with a hug, a comforting word and a box of tissues. When Jill had first brought up the idea in March of the three of them moving out of the dorms and getting their own place in the fall, they all agreed that Pam had to join them. No ifs, ands or buts about it. She was their responsible big sister, their steady rock in the tumultuous sea that was college life. Pam always knew the right words to say and she didn’t disappoint today.

“We’ll just have to get a new roommate,” stated Pam matter-of-factually from her seat on the floor. “I mean, classes don’t start for another two weeks. I am certain between the four of us we can find someone who needs a place to live.”

Penelope nodded her head. Pam was right. Pam was _ always _right. UCSB was huge. How hard could it be to find a new roommate?

* * *

The next two weeks flew by quickly. Penelope was busy finishing up her hours at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital where she had spent the summer interning and continuing her research in Dr. Berkowitz’s lab. She reviewed her upcoming class schedule, rented her textbooks, made an appointment to see her pre-health advisor, decided which professors she could approach this quarter to ask if they would write letters of recommendation for her for med school, starting thinking about all the different medical school programs she wanted to apply to which led to her thinking about taking the MCAT next spring which then led her down the road of freaking out because she is sooooooo not ready to take the test that will determine her future, nope not ready at all. In between she hung out with Jill and Ramona, caught up with old friends and classmates as they returned from their summers away, texted with Mami and Papi (her mother really liked sending gifs of random cartoon characters laughing) and ate her weight in her waffles.

What she didn’t do however, was find a new roommate.

“We are fucked, mama,” sighed Ramona as they sat in their apartment together the Thursday before classes started watching tv. “Fucked with a capital F.”

“I know,” groaned Penelope as she leaned her head back against the sofa, thumping it twice for good measure. "I cannot believe NO ONE needs a place to live. I mean, are we are college students or not? Does no one else procrastinate on their living arrangements? When did everyone decide to become responsible?"

"It’s an act, Reira," said Jill who was sitting on the floor next to them in a tank top and shorts, painting each of her toenails a different color. "We’ve all gotten good at faking it.”

“Maybe you have,” said Ramona grinning devilishly. “But I’ve never had to.”

“Ugh, don’t remind us,” Penelope grimaced and shook her head. “I’ve shared a room with you the last two years. And girl, you are so not quiet.”

“Bish, I’m Latina. When am I ever quiet?”

Penelope conceded with a nod. Ramona made a good point.

"Just remember that all three of us are sharing a room this year,” interjected Jill as she carefully drew a strip of purple down her big toe. “Pen and I don’t need to be hearing you and Claudia having sex all the time, Ramona.”

“Hey, don’t be hatin’ because you can’t get any.”

“I can get it,” said Jill, finally looking away from her nails to peer up at them and frowned, slightly. “It’s the keeping it that seems to be an issue.”

Penelope paused, thinking. “What happened to what’s his name from last weekend -Adrian?”

“Aidan.”

“Sorry, Aidan,” apologized Penelope though she could have sworn Jill had introduced him as Adrian. “You two looked awfully cozy as you headed over to his place. Have you talked to him recently?”

“Nope. He stopped responding to my texts. And he blocked me on Insta and Snapchat. And of course this was after we had sex in his too-small bed that smelled like old socks.”

“Asshole,” said Penelope, fury kicking up inside her at the sadness she saw on Jill’s face. “Want Ramona and I to go hunt him down and kick his ass for you?”

“I know a guy,” offered Ramona. “He’s got a chainsaw.”

“Um no,” said Jill, now looking slightly alarmed. “He’s not worth it. But thanks.”

“Your loss,” said Ramona with a shrug as she turned back to the tv. Just then their front door burst open and Pam came running in.

"Ah!" she said, skidding to a stop in front of them, a huge grin on her face. " I found someone. I found our new roommate!"

Penelope felt her heart kick up in speed. "You did? Who? What's her name? When can she move in?"

"Well," gasped Pam as she threw herself into the chair nearest the door, her backpack sliding off her shoulder to the floor with a loud thunk. She took a deep breath and looked at them, her smile slightly faltering. “First you all have to promise me you will not freak out.”

“Freak out-_ what? _ Why would we freak out?” Penelope asked.

“I make no promises,” said Ramona.

"It just…...okay.” Pam took a deep breath before saying, quickly. “It’s a guy.”

“A guy?" all three girls echoed together in one loud chorus that ranged from disgusted (Ramona) to intrigued (Jill).

"A guy," repeated Pam.

"Explain," demanded Penelope, now thoroughly confused. They had never mentioned getting a guy roommate before. In fact, Penelope had just assumed without it being stated aloud that they were looking for another girl to join their apartment. Did she _ want _ to live with a boy? She had eleven years of living with her brother before he left for school and all she can remember from that time was the cloud of cologne in the hallway outside their bedrooms and needing to check the toilet seat for pee before she sat down.

"Well, his name is Schneider,” began Pam. “He's a transfer student, a junior, and this is his second week here. He’s a sociology major like me and both of us spent far too much time sitting outside Mr. Greene’s office this morning while he dealt with some senior that had her schedule all messed up. We got to talking while we waited and it turns out he needs a place to live for the year. It didn’t work out with the roommates he was assigned to.”

“It didn’t work out?” asked Jill in confusion. “The quarter hasn’t even started yet. How did it not work out?”

“I don’t know,” Pam admitted with a small shrug. “I didn’t asked.”

“You didn’t ask?” exclaimed Ramona, her voice rising. “You want him to move in with us, live with us for an _ entire _ year and you didn’t _ ask _why he got kicked out of his apartment?”

“I don’t think he got kicked out,” replied Pam slowly as she chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. “I was under the impression that he left. I don’t know. He didn’t seem to really want to talk about it so I didn’t ask.” 

“Because he’s a serial killer,” stated Jill.

“Schneider is not a serial killer,” Pam frowned. “He seemed nice.”

"Nice nice or serial killer nice?” Penelope couldn’t stop herself from asking with a wry grin.

“Oh my god,” groaned Pam as she looked up at the ceiling and shook her head. The other three girls laughed before Pam started speaking again.

“Look,” Pam's voice was firm. “Schneider seemed nice _ and _ normal. I wouldn’t have offered to have him move in with us if I didn’t think he would be a good fit.”

“But a _ guy _?” growled Ramona.

“Do we have any other options?” asked Pam as she looked around. All three of them shook their heads. Penelope glanced at Jill and Ramona knowing they were thinking the same thing she was - they had no other options. And October rent would be due in less than two weeks. Penelope let out a small, internal groan of annoyance before she looked at Pam, knowing it was now her turn to step up to the plate and be the bigger person.

“When can we meet him?”

A grin spread across Pam’s face. “He’s free Saturday.”

* * *

  
Penelope hadn’t had much time to fixate on their potential roommate-to-be before Saturday morning rolled around - she spent all of Friday in the lab with Dr. B trying to get her cells to behave in the way they should be behaving and growing frustrated at the lack of expected results (or any results, really. Honestly she swears her cells act like a senior the weekend after finals - content, lazy and not ready to try anything new). However from Jill’s questions to Pam that she had managed to overhear before collapsing face-down onto her bed late Friday night (‘Is Schneider hot? Straight? Single?’) and Pam’s non committal responses (‘He’s okay I guess and I’m not sure about the rest'), Penelope was not expecting anything out of the ordinary. Most college guys at UCSB seemed to fall into one of three categories - the loud frat boys that called everyone bruh and dude, the surfers that had a permanent year-round tan and didn’t seem to own a pair of closed-toed shoes and the nerdy guys who walked around campus in large groups chattering excitedly to each other about the latest tech gadgets or video games they were playing. Penelope half assumed from Pam’s responses that Schneider would be part of the latter category which is why she nearly fell out of her chair in surprise at the somewhat attractive stranger who entered their apartment behind Pam late Saturday morning.

“Ladies, this is Schneider.” Pam said, gesturing with her head to the tall, lanky guy with unkempt brown hair and a gigantic smile standing beside her. “Schneider these are my girls - Ramona, Penelope and Jill.”

He was kinda cute, thought Penelope in disbelief as she took in Schneider's tall frame and strong jawline. He was wearing cargo shorts, a light grey t-shirt and what looked like a few strings of homemade friendships bracelets on his right wrist that oddly enough added to his appeal rather than took away from it. Before she could react to this unexpected intrigue Schneider opened his mouth to speak and the small spark of awareness that flared unexpectedly in her stomach at the sight of him faded away as quickly as it had come at the first words out of his mouth.

"Wassup, ladies," he singsonged, doing a thing with his hands that looked like a cross between a wave and a badly executed high five and it was all just so _ weird _ that Penelope instantly moved him from the curious/possibly interested box to the nope, not ever going there box in her head. Jill snorted as Ramona looked even more unimpressed with their potential roommate and Penelope turned slowly to Pam, raising her eyebrows and whispering quietly so that Schneider couldn’t hear, "This bobo, really?"

Pam jammed her elbows into Schneider’s chest. "Schneider," she hissed. "Remember what we talked about."

"Oh right," said Schneider, rubbing his sternum. "Be cool, be cool, be cool." He repeated it under his breath, almost to himself. He took a deep breath, looked up and smiled.

Damn his eyes were blue.

"I'm Schneider," he said cheerfully as he bounced on the soles of his feet, throbbing with an unbridled amount of energy for a weekend morning. "I'm a poor soul in need of a place to stay. I am housebroken and I pick up after myself. I am not a jerk or an asshole or a party animal."

He turned to Pam. "Is there anything else I am forgetting?"

Pam bit back a grin. "You respect women."

"Oh right," he said, snapping his fingers and repeating in the same cheery tone as before that Penelope was surprised to find more endearing than annoying. "I respect women. And men. And non-binary. And genderqueer. For I am an ally." He added as an afterthought.

For a long moment there was a loud silence that stretched out in the space between them. Then just as Schneider's grin was starting to slip from his face the four girls started to laugh. Loudly.

"Dang, Pam," said Ramona, leaning over to give her a fist bump. "You made him memorize all that?"

"He's like a trained monkey," added Jill, her gaze moving appreciatively over Schneider's lanky frame. “I approve.”

"Ignore them," Penelope said as she stepped closer to Schneider who was now looking thoroughly confused. "They are idiots who get a kick out of this routine. You should have seen them last year with the foreign exchange students from Spain. Ramona had them quoting Buffy within a week."

"Don't diss Buffy," chided Ramona in mock outrage. "That’s my girl."

"Anyways, I’m Penelope, otherwise known as Pen, otherwise known as the smart one who keeps these two fools in line when Pam isn’t around,” said Penelope as she held out her hand in greeting. Schneider took it and stared at her with almost comically widen eyes, his touch light and warm against her palm. Up close his smile was even brighter than she expected and it made Penelope smile back in response because it had been so long since she had met someone who looked so damn happy. Where exactly had Pam found this guy? On the corner of Chuck E Cheese and Disneyland?

"Schneider," he murmured as he continued to stare at her, confusion and happiness still whirling around in his too bright eyes. For a moment Penelope thought Schneider wasn’t going to release her hand, his hold on hers was not slacking and they were about two seconds away from shaking hands to actual hand holding but then Jill came up to greet him and the moment between them evaporated in nothingness as Schneider turned to speak to Jill, her hand now sliding out of his grip without protest. 

Penelope frowned slightly. Well that was weird.

The four girls spend the next ten minutes interrogating Schneider - where he had transferred from (Santa Monica College), what his major is (sociology like Pam said but while she wants to became a therapist Schneider wants to become a social worker), to his favor topping of pizza (pineapple and Canadian bacon). He’s eager, Penelope realized a few minutes into their conversation and hopelessly optimistic which was actually kind of refreshing considering the majority of people she interacts with on a daily basis (pre-med students are not exactly the most uplifting of people Penelope has come to realize over the past two years). Penelope also gets what Pam meant the other day when she said Schneider was nice. Because he is nice. Unexpectedly nice in a way that she doesn't think is an act or performance and ultimately it is that notable character trait that makes her agree that Schneider would be a good fit for their apartment even though he is a guy.

And someone whom Penelope is kinda attracted to but she's fine with ignoring that small fact if it means she'll get a roommate out of it.

“Well, I think that is all for us,” said Jill after they had shown Schneider around the small apartment and had discussed rent and living logistics (Schneider will be sharing a room with Pam, he had to put the toilet seat down after using it, etc.) “Oh wait," she said, pausing mid-walk. "I forgot about the house rules.

“House rules?” asked Schneider, his voice curious.

“We have three,” explained Jill, holding up her hand and ticking off fingers. “Number one: clean up your own shit. Number two: no sex in the common areas -including the bathroom, _ Ramona_." She added with a glare at Ramona who did her best to look innocent. "And number three: waffles are for everyone.”

"Waffles? Really?"

"We take waffles very seriously in this house," said Ramona sternly as she gestured to the waffle maker sitting on the kitchen counter behind them. "If you make waffles for yourself, you make for all. End of discussion."

"Ay_, _" nodded Penelope in agreement.

For a moment Schneider looked between all of them and Penelope thought he was going to say no. He wasn't going to live with four crazy girls who didn't care about who cleaned the bathroom but had a strict waffle sharing policy. And why would he? Penelope felt her heart sinking low, she wanted Schneider to move in, she wanted a chance to get to know-

But then Schneider’s face split in half again as he grinned, a giant euphoric grin that made his bright eyes crinkle at the corners and caused Penelope's stomach to lunge unexpectedly down toward her knees. "I'm Canadian," he said. "I can share waffles as long as you promise to only use the good stuff, 100% pure Canadian maple syrup. I can get some shipped to us as early as next week. On me."

"Deal," Penelope said with no hesitation as she looked to the rest of her friends, making sure they were all on the same page. Jill gave her the thumbs up, Ramona begrudgingly shrugged and Pam beamed. Penelope turned back to Schneider and smiled.

"Welcome to apartment 402, roomie."

* * *

Next Chapter: The girls throw a 21st birthday party for Jill and Schneider is a bit too eager to make friends.


End file.
